Officer who shot Tamir Rice is fired in unrelated matter

The Cleveland, Ohio, police officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice in 2014 while the 12-year old was playing with a replica gun has been dismissed, but not because of the child's death.

Police Chief Calvin Williams announced discipline Tuesday against officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback related to the shooting of Tamir (tuh-MEER') Rice at a recreation center in 2014 as he held a pellet gun.

The mother of Tamir Rice says punishment handed down for officers involved in her son's shooting death took "too long" and believes both officers should have been fired. As the Plain Dealer reported last month, CIRC already "found no fault in the officers' actions leading up to, during and after the November 22, 2014 shooting at Cudell Recreation Center on Cleveland's West Side".

Loehmann was still in his probationary period when he shot Rice, as he had only been on the force for eight months.

During the news conference on Tuesday, city officials like Mayor Frank Jackson made it clear that they had undergone an "exhaustive process" in order to determine appropriate disciplinary action for Loehmann and Garmback. The auto moves close to Rice, and less than two seconds after the vehicle arrives, Loehmann shoots the boy.

Celtics-Cavaliers Game 5
Deron Williams , who had been quiet for most of the series, also got in on the act with a series-best 14 points for Cleveland . He showed no signs of lingering issues, though, beating several defenders off the dribble and handing out seven assists.

Garmback, meanwhile, was suspended for 10 days without pay for use of improper tactics while driving to the scene.

In 2015, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against any of the officers involved in the shooting, which inflamed national outrage over this and other prominent killings of young African-Americans by police officers.

"As we continue to grieve for Tamir, I hope this is a call for all of us to build stronger communities together".

Those violations had been confirmed during an investigation that included a disciplinary hearing on May 2, McGrath said. "They did not do anything outside of our policy, outside of our training, and this is a politically motivated witch hunt". On Tuesday, it was announced that the rookie cop who killed him, Timothy Loehmann, has been fired from the Cleveland Division of Police following the conclusion of an investigation into the shooting.

The city paid a $6 million settlement to Tamir's family following his death.